Misconception
by izaheichou
Summary: An office!AU where Midorima and Takao have not spoken for a long time, Midorima's a pharmacist, and Takao's a new secretary, his pro basketball career ended by injury. They meet after a long time, but their relationship runs into...complications. Rating will rise later, most likely.


Before I start, huge thanks to taigakagam1 on tumblr for the HUGE help he provided to me in revising this chapter! He made it so much more great in terms of wording and pacing, so make sure to give him a lot of credit too! C: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this!

Chapter one, new beginnings

**Saturday afternoon**

This was it. It was over. Never again could Takao speed across the shining wood of a basketball court, sending the orange ball every which way around their opponents and leading it to the hoop. It had been that shameless player Hanamiya who had brought him down, clipping his hawk wings with no remorse. He had achieved his dreams of going professional in basketball, only to have his run of several years cut short, cut by a spider who saw him as a destructive thread.

Takao sighed, staring at yet another job application on his desktop, his homework from his college class sitting on his desk, untouched. His hope for a long future in professional basketball had been crushed as his prime years had been cut short by his busted knee. His savings were rapidly trickling down the drain, suctioned away by his rent and food costs. Twirling the pen in his hand, he rubbed his injured knee, his body aching from fatigue. He was just about to put his fingers to the keyboard to fill out his latest job application, when his phone rang, shocking him out of his stupor.

Grabbing his phone hurriedly, he looked at the screen with apprehension, noting that it was a number he did not know. Holding the phone to his ear, he answered breathlessly, "Hello?"

The person on the other line replied with an official tone, "Yes, is this Takao Kazunari? I am Satou Yumi from Mori Pharmaceuticals calling to let you know that you have been accepted for the position of secretary."

"Yes! I'm Takao," he affirmed, stopping himself from letting out a sigh of relief. "When do I start?" he inquired, tapping his fingers on his desk excitedly.

"We would like you to start Monday, if that is okay with you," Satou responded promptly.

"Yes, yes, that's great!" Takao agreed, nodding vigorously. "I'll be there, eight A.M. sharp."

"Good, thank you, Takao-san. We look forward to working with you." The phone clicked, and he placed it back onto his desk, exhaling deeply.

The excitement that he had suppressed during the phone call imploded within him, and he jumped from his seat, pumping both fists in the air and practically squealing "I got the job!" He closed the application he had been working on and pranced about the house before finally returning to his desk and sitting before his college homework.

"Whew—better get this done, then," he remarked to himself, picking up his pencil, pondering his assignment.

* * *

**Monday morning: 8 am**

Indeed at eight am Monday morning, Takao found himself before the large glass building he had visited once for an interview. Straightening his collar and tie, he took a deep breath before pushing the ornate glass doors open. As he walked to the receptionist's counter, he tried to disguise his limp, but not to much avail. His knee still ached, and he cursed Hanamiya under his breath. At the counter, he introduced himself, "Um, hi, I'm Takao Kazunari, and I'm starting as a secretary here today…Where should I go?"

"Hi, Takao-san! My name is Mori Riko," the receptionist chirped with a grin, "If you're just starting here today, then you should go to the director's office so she can tell you where your office is and who you're working for." Pointing a finger down a hall behind her, to Takao's right, she continued, "The elevator is just down there. Satou-san's office is on the fifth floor, down the hall to your left. There is a sign on the door, I forget which one, but you should be able to find it."

"Thank you," he smiled charmingly, bowing his head slightly, "It was a pleasure meeting you." Turning into the hallway she had pointed out to him, he called the elevator, tapping his foot softly as he watched the lights narrate the elevator's descent. The elevator dinged open, revealing no one, and Takao stepped inside, pressing for the fifth floor. As he exited on the fifth floor, his eyes scanned the doors for "Director" as he walked through the hallway. Finally, he came to a door telling him that the director was Satou Yumi, the same woman who had interviewed him and called to tell him he had been accepted.

Hesitating before the door, he took a deep breath, then brought up his hand to knock moderately.

"Come in!" the same voice from the phone Saturday afternoon called to him, and he carefully let himself into her office.

Closing the door behind him, he bowed to the woman at her desk and greeted, "Good morning, ma'am!"

When he straightened up she was smiling amusedly at him. She motioned for him to sit in the chair in front of her desk and replied, "Good morning, Takao-san. Nice to see you here bright and early like you promised. You can just call me Satou."

He sat as she directed, hands curled atop his knees. He had taken all Sunday to prepare for his new position at Mori Pharmaceuticals. "I'm all ready to start today, Satou-san," he stated.

"Good, good," she smiled and held up a hand as she spoke, "You'll be working in Department M, which is on the sixth floor. I have already instructed a senior secretary in that department to show you around and introduce you to the other employees once you arrive."

"Alright, that sounds good," Takao nodded, "Thank you very much. I look forward to working well for you."

"And I look forward to working well with _you,_" Satou smiled, "You may go."

Takao stood, bowing once again, and said, "Excuse me," as he left the office.

Walking back to the elevator, he made his way to the sixth floor to find a town of cubicles fronted by a receptionist's counter. A brown-haired woman sat behind the counter, chatting amiably with another woman leaning against it. The standing woman turned as Takao walked out of the elevator, and grinned, saying, "You must be Takao-san! Right?" She had wavy black hair and impeccably straight teeth, and her light brown eyes hinted at humorous tendencies.

Approaching the two women, Takao smiled and affirmed, "Yes, I am Takao Kazunari. It's nice to meet you."

The brown-haired woman sitting at the counter said brightly, "Nice to meet you, Takao-san, I'm Tachibana Michiko, the receptionist for the sixth floor."

"And I'm Sasaki Haruna, your fellow secretary," the black-haired woman flashed her perfect teeth, gesturing to the area behind her, "And welcome to Department M, Takao-san."

"Thank you," he replied, bowing his head slightly.

"You'll be working for section D here," Sasaki began, motioning for Takao to follow, "Your desk is over here, this way."

Following Sasaki's lead, he trailed behind her between the aisles of cubicles, the sounds of phones going off and salesmen trying to earn meetings with potential buyers assaulting his ears. Turning his head to scan the area, he noticed the office environment was quite organized, yet lively. He was so engrossed with his new surroundings that when Sasaki stopped in front of his new cubicle, he nearly bumped into her. However, with his hawkeye, he noticed that she had stopped walking and stopped just a few inches behind her.

Gesturing to his cubicle, she smiled, "Here's your new desk. It's where you'll be performing your secretarial duties." Pointing across the aisle, she declared, "My cubicle is just over there; feel free to visit if you have any questions."

"Alright, thank you very much," Takao nodded, turning to look at his desk. Someone had already placed a stack of paperwork for him to work on, topped by a sticky note bearing a list of duties he was to complete that day.

"Before you start working," Sasaki continued, "Let's introduce you to your colleagues in Section D. You'll be able to meet the rest of Department M sooner or later."

She led him to the last table of salespeople they had passed on their way to his cubicle and called to them, "Hey guys, here's our new secretary Takao Kazunari!"

Stepping beside Sasaki, he bowed to the table of four and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Takao."

A short, blue-haired man stood first, followed by his colleagues. He bowed his head slightly and introduced himself, "It's nice to meet you; I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

A somewhat stooped brown-haired man followed suit and said, his voice trembling faintly, "And I'm Sakurai Ryou. It's a pleasure."

"Same to you. My name's Moriyama Yoshitaka," a taller, black-haired man greeted, elbowing the man beside him.

"Hey," he protested before turning to face Takao, a mild flush rising to his cheeks, to say, "Nice to meet you, I'm Izuki Shun. We really look forward to working with you here in section D."

"I also look forward to working with you," Takao responded and grinned, getting to the point, "I'll go start my duties now; thanks a lot for the welcome!"

On the way back to their desks, Takao thought cheerfully to himself, _well, my coworkers seem like interesting people. And I swear Izuki and Moriyama have a thing going._ Chuckling to himself, he took a closer look at his schedule to see he had forms to complete and papers to deliver on the other side of the floor. Deciding to take care of the easier task so he could focus better on the more taxing duty, he picked up the stack of papers, glancing at the sticky note to see where he needed to take them. Hefting the papers in his arms, he memorized the directions and headed out.

As he scanned his surroundings for Section A, he noticed a paper slipping off the top of the stack. Sliding his left arm beneath the stack, he reached up with his right, still walking, to fix the paper when—BAM—he crashed into what felt like a solid pole, sending the papers flying in every direction. Grunting as he caught himself, he looked up to see whom he had collided with, only to have a splash of forest green greet his grey eyes.

The sight left him speechless, the papers strewn over the floor forgotten. Finally, he swallowed his shock and stammered, "M-Midorima? Is that you?"

The green-haired man, dressed in a white lab coat and the same glasses he had worn in high school, looked down at Takao with wide eyes, his surprise more subtle. "Takao?" he replied, his voice skeptical, "What are you doing here?"

"I just started working here," Takao answered, still shaken. It had been several years since they had seen each other, and a sad few since they had last spoken on the phone.

"Oh really," Midorima said, "As what, may I ask?"

"Secretary."

"Hmph," Midorima smirked, "And what happened to basketball? I thought you went pro, what are you doing in a low office job?"

Looking down at his feet, Takao muttered regretfully, "I got injured. My knee. I'm going back to school, but I needed a job to keep afloat."

"Oh," Midorima's expression softened with understanding, "I'm sorry, Takao." As if to make it up to the other for his coldness, Midorima bent over, methodically picking up the papers Takao had dropped.

Takao bent to join him, his knee sending jolts of pain through his leg, making him wince as he reached for the fallen papers. After a few moments of silence, only broken by the shuffling of papers, he started, his eyes still facing downward, "Hey…Do you want to go out for a drink tonight? You know, catch up. It's been a long time."

He could feel his heart thumping madly as the old emotions from high school rushed back to him, revived by the sight of his old partner. Inside, he rushed to suppress those feelings before they washed over him, as he had done for much of high school, knowing that holding them was futile.

There was a slight pause. "Sure," Midorima accepted, handing the papers he had retrieved to Takao. "What time do you get off?"

Taking the papers from the other's hands and setting them on those he had picked up, he tilted his head, pondering. "Hmm," he thought, then piped, "I get off at 5:30, you?" He felt immensely grateful that he had no classes that night. Maybe this was fate's work.

"I have a meeting at 4, but I should be able to get off around the same time. Do you have a place in mind?"

Flashing his index finger, Takao grinned, "I know a great izakaya just down the street from here. Takemura-ya? Have you heard of it?"

"Yes, I've been there before," Midorima pushed up his glasses, unmoved by Takao's excitement. "It's settled, then. I'll see you there around 5:40 pm. You should get back to work."

"Yes, yes, Shin-chan," he waved his hand dismissively, shaking his head, "Still as serious as ever, I see." Smiling genuinely so that his eyes crinkled, he said softly, "I'm glad you haven't really changed. See you later." Waving good-bye, Takao left to continue with his delivery.

Midorima stood a moment, saying nothing. Pondering. Takao always spoke, acted like his feelings were laced with something more than friendship, but he had never paid much mind to it. However, somehow, he felt apprehensive about tonight's reunion with his old partner. Thinking about telling Takao that he had a girlfriend now made him feel an emotion akin to fear, deep in his guts. Fingering his cell phone, he shook off the feeling and decided to text his girlfriend: _Sorry. I have a business related affair to tend to tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, though._

* * *

Once he returned to his desk, Takao set determinedly to the stack of paperwork waiting for him, and by the time he finished, the clock on the wall displayed _5:25 pm._ Gathering his belongings and swinging his bag onto his shoulder, he headed to Sasaki's cubicle to let her know he had finished everything he was assigned and that he would be leaving for the day.

"I'll be going for today, I'll see you tomorrow!" he announced.

"Oh?" She mused, "Done already? You're a fast worker, Takao-san. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then." Smiling, she waved to him in good-bye, and he turned to walk to the elevator.

Waving a good-bye to the people in Section D and Tachibana at the receptionist's desk, Takao made his way to the first floor, waving to Mori on his way out of the building.

Breathing in the cool evening air, Takao turned right, making his way to Takemura-ya, just a few blocks down from Mori Pharmaceuticals. He grabbed a private room for two and sent a text to Midorima saying, "I'm here. I got a private room, so just ask for me." After watching the message send, he twiddled his fingers, thinking about what he would say to his old partner, what he would ask. How are you doing lately? So you've become a pharmacist for a huge company? Congratulations. Why…Why haven't you called me?

That last question was merely a thought, and Takao knew he would never ask that question; it hurt too much, and besides, Midorima was a busy person and so was he. Still, he thought that their friendship meant more than that, more than just any friendship in which the people drifted apart so easily.

Completely lost in thought, Takao failed to notice Midorima entering the room and sitting in front of him.

"Oi," Midorima called to him irritably, reaching over to flick him on the forehead. "Your hawkeye stopped working?"

Takao jumped in his seat as the other flicked him, heart pounding rapidly. "A-ah, Shin-chan, you scared me!" he stuttered, all the thoughts expelled from his mind.

"You haven't changed much either. Still using that stupid nickname," Midorima remarked, a bit ruefully.

Pouting playfully, Takao protested, "It's not stupid! It's cute, like you, Shin-chan."

"Whatever," he dismissed, rolling his eyes. Picking up the menu, he asked, "What do you want to order, Takao?"

"Hmm, I was thinking maybe some yakitori and sake?"

"That sounds good," Midorima responded, his nose still buried in the menu. "I'll have some karaage, as well."

The waiter came to take their order and menus, leaving them alone with silence.

It was Takao who finally piped up. He swallowed, then asked, "So…how have you been lately?"

Folding his hands together and placing them on his lap, he replied, "I've been fine. Just been working for Mori as a pharmacist. I just came to turn in some documents and attend a meeting. I work at the pharmacy down the street."

"Congratulations," Takao smiled smugly, "Mori is a huge company."

"And you?" he asked, flicking his emerald eyes up to meet Takao's grey ones.

Takao swore he felt his heart shiver when those deep emerald seas met his eyes, and he glanced away momentarily out of nervousness. Cursing himself, he wondered why he felt so jumpy. Was it because they hadn't seen each other in a while, and he just had to get used to suppressing his feelings again?

"Fine, I guess," he finally managed to say, shrugging, "Just glad to get a job. I'm taking classes, maybe see if I can get into the video game industry."

"Hm. I see." Silence. Then, "Do you have a girlfriend, Takao?"

He looked up in shock when he heard that question, only to see Midorima's face as stoic as ever. Why the hell was he asking something like that? Dense bastard… His chest tightened, tiny needles of pain stabbing the tips of his fingers.

Laughing hollowly, he had to keep himself from clutching his chest, as if that would urge the inscrutable pain away. His laughter trailing away, he asked, incredulous, "Really, Midorima? What kind of question is that?" He knew he was only stalling, but maybe he had always secretly hoped that the other was silently aware of his feelings—nothing but a painful misconception borne from their close friendship.

"Nah," he waved his hand, trying to appear lighthearted, "I'm much too busy to date anyone right now." And you? Those were the words he cut off; he didn't have the guts to initiate the heartbreak with a question.

"Ah, I see. I do." He said those two words like they were nothing, but to Takao, they were tiny knives straight to his heart. He had known his love was futile, but what miniscule hope he had held was now gone.

**A/N: very drastic wording I know, haha. And a wordy first chapter. Sorry, I was trying to fit an introduction and a good start all at once. Hope you guys like this. o3o and I hope I don't drop it like my other fic…laughs**


End file.
